For the overall win, Dowdy used AgriGold variety A6499STXRIB submitted under the Till-Strip Till Irrigated division of the contest; the precise yield was 521.3968 bushels per acre. The second-place winner was a considerable number behind at 501 bushels per acre by Kevin Dowdy, also of Georgia.

Randy Dowdy is a first generation farmer. While he’s been farming for some time, he began growing corn in 2008. Since then, he’s pulled in at the top, or near the top, of several national corn yield contest categories. He’s continually and consistently increased his yield since 2011.

“I’m honored to be here and humbled by it and I’m thankful that people would come out for an historic day. … And it has been my great pleasure to work with a lot of the people associated with AgriGold,” Randy Dowdy said at a press event Monday. He touted uniformity, unison, and timeliness as reasons for his success.

Virginia farmer David Hula won the contest in 2015, hitting 532 bushels per acre.

Jessica Szilagyi is statewide contributor for All On Georgia and Market Manager for Southeast Georgia. Her main focus with All On Georgia is state and local politics as well as agriculture. She’s served as a policy analyst at the State Capitol and as a campaign manager in political races across the state.

She writes for GeorgiaPol.com and has two blogs of her own: ‘The Perspicacious Conservative’, a political blog, and ‘Hair Blowers to Lawn Mowers’, a blog on moving from Atlanta to rural Georgia. Jessica is also a contributor for Fox5 Atlanta’s ‘Like it Or Not.’